by Paul LeFevre
My son (2 1/2 years old) and I grabbed binoculars and headed outside at 6:40, on the sidewalk in front of our SF city home to look for Pegasus (and Mercury!). As we were walking to the corner, my son said to a couple out walking their dog, "we're gonna see the rocket ship!" They asked me what he was talking about, I told them about the anticipated launch, and they immediately ran off to get their 2 sons to come watch the launch.
In the meantime, as we looked for (and found!) Mercury, then Jupiter, Venus, & Saturn... another couple from next door saw the gathering on the sidewalk, and came over to ask what we were doing. I explained about the launch again, and they decided to stick around and watch also. Since there was no rocket yet, I pointed out the planets all nicely lined up to the assembled group (several of them told me they thought Mercury was never visible, and were startled to know that they were actually seeing it!).
7:03 PM now, and still no Pegasus. Two more people stopped to ask what we were doing, and stayed also. Introductions all around (we had all "seen" each other around the neighborhood, but had never really met), I conducted another quick tour of the sky (Orion and M42, Sirius, and the planets yet again), and I was ready to give up.
I apologized for getting them excited about a rocket launch that apparently didn't happen, but each and every one of them told me they were glad they had stopped and looked, and thanked me for showing them the planets and some stars. Warm fuzzies all around. Now I know why sidewalk astronomers get such a kick out of what they do!
So, what happened to Pegasus?